AAlto 2017 magnum, AALTO

Deep purple red colour, as corresponds to old Tempranillo grapes. On the nose we perceive good fruit intensity, a great deal of freshness and hints of well integrated wood. On the palate we find all the elements one can expect from a great vintage: complexity, tannic structure, intensity and elegance. The typical flavours of our grape and our region are evident with liquorice, black berries, coffee, tobacco and spice, always within the distinct style of AALTO. This wine can be enjoyed now but will benefit from a time in the bottle, and will improve and gain complexity over many years if properly cellared.

Deep purple red colour, as corresponds to old Tempranillo grapes. On the nose we perceive good fruit intensity, a great deal of freshness and hints of well integrated wood. On the palate we find all the elements one can expect from a great vintage: complexity, tannic structure, intensity and elegance. The typical flavours of our grape and our region are evident with liquorice, black berries, coffee, tobacco and spice, always within the distinct style of AALTO. This wine can be enjoyed now but will benefit from a time in the bottle, and will improve and gain complexity over many years if properly cellared.

Grape origin: 100 % Tinto Fino (Tempranillo)Vines: primarily from very old vines ranging from 40 to 80 years old, in seven different villages in Ribera del Duero and Burgos, and younger grapes from our own vineyards in two villages in the province of Valladolid. As always, harvest was done by hand in small boxes of 15 kilos and thoroughly inspected, bunch by bunch, on the selection table. Average oak ageing: Aged for 16 months in 50% new barrels of French and American oak. Bottling: AALTO 2017 was bottled in June 2019.

Aalto winemaker Mariano García had been in charge of the wines at Vega Sicilia for 30 years, and managing director, Javier Zaccagnini had been the director of Ribera’s regulatory body, the Consejo Regulador, for six years.Their aim was to obtain the highest possible quality from the terroir of Ribera del Duero and develop a great wine that, after 15 to 20 years of serious work, based on the expertise of Mariano and the management of Javier, would be comparable in quality to the great wines of the world. To be comparable in prestige would probably take about 100 years but the case of AALTO is different: in less than 16 years Mariano and Javier have achieved their goal.The key to AALTO’s complexity is the choice of the best fruit from across Ribera del Duero’s diverse terroirs. They now cultivate 110 hectares of old block Tinto Fino vines, made up of 200 plots, none bigger than 1 hectare sourcing from 9 different villages within the region. The top villages include Roa, La Horra, La Aguilera, Fresnillo and Moradillo. Each plot is harvested and handled separately, with different oak treatments.Up to the 2004 vintage they were making wines at rented premises in Roa (Burgos) while their new bodega was being built in a 15 hectare estate that they own in Quintanilla de Arriba (Valladolid).They designed and built a modern winery following strict criteria to ensure optimal winemaking conditions. They use a low temperature chamber to cool harvested grapes prior to de-stemming and harness gravity to move grapes and musts around the winery, thus avoiding aggressive pumps. They ferment in wood, concrete and stainless steel, employing tanks designed by us. their two underground oak- ageing halls offer excellent natural conditions to allow perfect malolactic fermentation in wood and gentle, controlled barrel ageing.